News:
Hamas militants clash [1] with Israeli occupation forces [2] near the Gaza border. (New York Times/AP)
A Palestinian is reportedly killed [3], and an Israeli soldier injured, in the fighting. (Ma'an)
Israel approves 400 new settlement [4] housing units. (Ha'aretz)
Pres. Abbas says the PA may "cut ties" [5] with Israel if a draft Palestinian UN resolution fails. (Ma'an)
Israel's outgoing government is pumping millions of dollars [6] into Jewish settlements ahead of national elections. (AP)
FM Lieberman [7] declares that he is part of a "pragmatic national camp [8]." (Jerusalem Post/Times of Israel)
Bethlehem prepares to celebrate Christmas Eve [9]. (Ma'an)
Palestinian Christians in the occupied West Bank remain welcoming [10]. (New York Times)
Palestinian Christians in Gaza face a bittersweet Christmas [11]. (Ma'an)
Orphans in Gaza are still traumatized [12] after the summer war. (The National)
ISIS extremists [13] claim to have shot down [14] a Jordanian jet from the US-led coalition, and has definitely captured the pilot [15]. (New York Times/AP/Los Angeles Times)
Jordan confirms [16] the loss of the plane and the capture [17] of the pilot. (Xinhua/BBC)
ISIS is reportedly making slow progress [18] in Syria despite US-led airstrikes. (The Media Line)
A suicide attack [19] kills at least 24 people [20] near Baghdad. (AP/Xinhua)
The search is on for a diplomatic solution [21] to the war in Syria. (AP)
Kurdish forces are engaged in a fierce battle [22] with ISIS extremists in Sinjar. (AP)
The price of oil sinks to a mere $60 [23] a barrel. (AP)
Democracy activists in Jordan say the country is using a new antiterrorism law to stifle dissent [24]. (Christian Science Monitor)
The UN says rival factions in Libya agree "in principle [25]" to peace talks. (Reuters)
Tunisia's new president [26] will focus on the economy. (AP)
Commentary:
Lieberman [27] says PM Netanyahu's status quo approach has failed and Israel needs a peace agreement. (Ha'aretz)
Avi Shilon [28] says Lieberman gives pragmatism a bad name. (Ha'aretz)
Dan Goldenblatt [29] says a two-state solution has failed, and it's time to look at an Israeli-Palestinian confederation. (The Forward)
Zvi Bar'el [30] says Israel should try recognizing, and negotiating with, a Palestinian state. (Ha'aretz)
Raphael Ahren [31] calls the latest Palestinian UN initiative "capricious" and "possibly self-defeating." (Times of Israel)
Amira Hass [32] says Abbas is a "monarch" and a "subcontractor of the occupation." (Ha'aretz)
Christian Caryl [33] says it's a grim Christmas for Middle Eastern Christians, who face the destruction of their world. (Foreign Policy)
Rashmee Roshan Lall [34] says ISIS' brutality portends its eventual defeat. (The National)
Omar al-Jaffal [35] says ISIS is consolidating its control over Anbar province. (Al Monitor)
Osama Al Sharif [36] says Jordan has a crucial role in the war against extremism. (Jordan Times)
Aaron David Miller [37] says Pres. Obama is no lame duck on foreign policy. (CNN)
Joseph Kechichian [38] says Tunisians have voted for security and accountability. (Gulf News)
Hussein Ibish [39] says Nida Tunis may face lose-lose scenarios in victory, and Ennahda win-win ones in defeat. (NOW)
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